New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-13
FOREMOST IN THE FIELD.
THE DWYER BROTHERS.


THEIR REMARKABLE CAREER ON The iohf.
phr,m ]. and Michael +. Dwyer-the "Butcher
a.. " nj, they are sometimes famary calied-are
csrh,,s the best known and most popular OF the
vouuaer turfmen of the United States. Racing win
them is not a pastne but IA business, ana IL ever
owners of thorOugbbreds made business pay these
brothers have done 40 In briefly sketchng their lives
they must be spoken OF together In business anu II.
measure they have always been mseparaDis ana ia
THE TRIBUNE they shall not be d., ided. Mheh ula
any one see Phil IL the paddock that Mike vas
NOT at his elbow or " Mike" strOlling across the
quarter stretch ttat I" Phil was not his SHADOW
They have been looked upon as mooein ,;niou
edition of Damon and Pythias. and common OPINION
says that they think almost much OF each oner a u
they were not brothers. On all matters mo o,;, nd
ually private Phil " must confer WITH Mlke ana
Mire y with sPhn." And vet sometimes they aeIee
IN disaoree II Mike" wishes to bet on a cet.ain
horse and Phil inclined ., op Gos On by putting
IN an insignificant sum but when they Hte Vi oo
mind concernn g the chances OF starter thelr uo
sn he occasion Of farfeched stories in which the
imso;oation of the retailers has run rot WIN ihe
truth The brothers say frankly u az .er odod
an order 10 win IS, 900. Phn says tnat " Mix Is
the betting man of the firm and Mike does not
deny the soft impeachment lhey hiaAe no ec0i0''i
Twenty-fye and thirty years ago these orothers
played ball and marbles IN Pacifc-st Brooklyn. JUST
ssrc,nd the corner from Courtst. They were leaders
An ali kinds of sport and Mike was lOokea upon as
the Quickest boy in the neighborhood His rght 70
command his following was denied oy tommy
them to decide who shond be boss OF the quarter.
The contest waged turously in ring formed oy the
boys and there smashing OF noses and pulling OF
hair: u. the 6ght declared draw and as usual,
the conbatant- became fast friends There were ,9t
tiny matches in those days at the Union track ana the
hoss who had lot surplus OF niekes and dimes and
quarters often rode to the races on the rear emu OF ~
Atlanticave. with the conductor OF when they nau
some masonic understanding. One Gay az tnis Iac t
oouI &c Edward Dwyer elder brother OF the SUBJECTS
Of This sketch went to the rescue OF an usophiscaea
countryman who being swindled by three caro-.
monte men. and when threatened with chast'sement
by the gamblers boldly offcredto light any one OF
them big bully was pitted against the BOY by a ths
crowd that collected to the contest Young Dwyer
worscd his antagonist and won tho sympathies OF all
the snectafors and the admiration OF the gamblers
thsmsel,cs' When his father died this boy became
the chief stay of the Dwver family which consisted OF
Mrs Dryer daughter and four sons he had n been
hrcught nm TO the trade of butcher, and while Phil
and Mike were yet little moro than children they
too were set to work learning the business; Thor
XXI thew a.ped themselves with great energy to their
work and soon mastered all the details OF the trade
When Edward Dwyer died they set up tor themselves
an small shop net far from their nome and the place
Wa so neat the boys prompt and ObligDg and the
meat they sold of good quality that they were soon
f.vorab rf an GOOD %er
their stock In trade. Soon they had two retail shops
then three, then four; then they had a wholesale
nIsee IN Washington Market and in few Years their
business became firmly established and their income
large ,..u,s If tAe, business gave the Dryer broth
era little to do in the afternoon. and to employ ther
leisure hours they bought horse and drove up the
road This horse, whose name was constitution
proved something ct trSt,es and IN snGI' % .%k%
Thus the Butcher BOYS" began their racing career
But trotng did not satisfy them they DID not fancy
turning their horses to the management OF pro-
iessonal drivers who drove to please themselves ana
not the owners 80 they bought third interest IN the
three-year-old colt Rhadamanthns and began 70 race
4 Do RAJ
Saratoga. Their partners In this investment were
George Longstaf and Barney" Goodwin no
to the racing world aud the horse cost them
So 500. His winnings amounted to enough to en-.
courage the brothers who bought out their AZ
the end of the and invested $Z'oOo ID other
horses among them Vigil and colt known as brother
70 Bassett but afterward caled,Chare Howard Vigil
captured the Dixie and Breckenridge stakes atBaltimore
in October 1870 and Brother 10 S"sset cap ar
attended a sale of thorougbbreds, II being that OF Mr.
Watson whore they bought several horses IL was
!osng spesulsfon ana ne Sopses uut is7 when
ut a sale in Saratoga they bought the twoyear-o.d
Bramble. This courageous youngstos won 1Ve cup
place was more than filled by the great colts Luke
Blackburn and Hindoo. The Dryers bought Luke
Blackburn for a small sum after he had been unsuc
cessfn as two-yearod but he became in their hands
one of the greatest race-lOrses America ever saw
They paid 81 $4,000 for Hindoo rs two-year-old and
he proved a splendid investment, as he won most OF
the rich threeyearold stakes in the following year
and when years of age defeated Eoe in the Coney
Island Cup. -,
The DIVERS were now well-knOwn turfmen and
they began great scale all over the United
States They paid the highest prices Tor the best
horses and strengthened their string from year to year
until in 1886 they had tbrty-one horses running
ployed three trainers and headed the list Of winning
owners not only in America but In the world. Their
horses started in 325 races. OF which they 50,
and they we're second 80 times and third as times
Their racing establishment REQUIRED much OF their
attention that they retired from other business and
will henceorh devote their entire time to the turf
THF TRIBUNE OF December 26 contained an account of
a visit to their stables at Sheepshead Bay together
with interesting incidents OF theii racing career
The brothers are modest and unassUming, domestic
IN their tastes and faithful to their friends Michael
DIVER loves nothing better than evening at hoi,e
with his wife and their five children. His brother,
whose wife died year ago, lives in CartoI-ave. with
his two children boy and a girl The two men often
NAV he found together at the new rooms OF the
Brooklyn Jockey Club IN Fulton-st., Brooklyn Philip
DIVER sometimes smokes cigar; Michael never uses
tobacco In any FORM Neither drinks Intoxicating
liauors To the friends of their boyhood who have
been ove-taken by misfortune they are proverbally
kind. Only short time ago, upon learning that an
old acquaintance almost want, they fitted up
market stall furnished II with full supply OF meat,
paid months rent in advance, and turned II all over
70 him. Other similar instances of their goodhearted
ness are told by who know them No one has a
bad word for them of the turf or on it.
THE KING OF THE DIAMOND.
A CHAT WITH A. C. sPALDING-BALL PLAYER AND